Abstract
The purpose of this study is to research the actual situation of regional child-rearing service centers attached to nurseries and to examine the contents of activities that utilize nursery teachers' knowledge and skill. Then those contents of activities were compared to activities using other knowledge and skill. Questionnaire-surveys were carried out among nursery teachers, personnel in charge of regional nursery activities programs in special nursery projects, and among the staff of regional child-rearing service centers in "A" prefecture. Our comparison of the results from the three groups revealed that regional child-rearing service centers functioned properly in providing play opportunities for children but did not work well in terms of supporting parents' groups, counseling and cooperating with other facilities. This result suggests that nursery teachers can support child-rearing services without any specially acquired knowledge or skill, utilizing current resources within nurseries such as nursery gardens, nursery rooms and nursery children, especially, providing such resources to families who are rearing their children at home in the region. This would reduce the gap between the actual situation in a region and society's expectations and guidelines for optimal child-rearing service.
